Jasper has worked at The Barter Theatre from 2001 and will return in the spring of 2020 to perform in Driving Miss Daisy. In WMKS Christmas he was featured as a vocalist and harmonica player. Notable dramatic productions range from Driving Miss Daisy, Of Mice and Men, and The Sunset Limited. Musical performances include The Full Monty, Little Shop of Horrors, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Jimmie Rodgers, and South Pacific.
Looking Over The Presidents Shoulder, a one man show about the first African American Chief Butler in the White House chronicled the life Alonzo Fields. Alonzo had dreams of becoming an Opera singer but as fate is the determinate of all he served under 4 presidents , Hoover, Roosevelt, Truman, and Eisenhower as chief Butler before resigning after 21 years. The play a two hour endeavor gave us history and glimpses into the soul and character of these men. The play received enormous accolades and was a financial success for The Barter. We toured in southwest Virginia much to the benefit of the local communities. One of the touring cities received grant funding based on the funding source seeing the production.
He also directed Where Trouble Sleeps and In the Heat of the Night. Both plays received great reviews and were well received by the Barter patrons.
The Barter holds the distinction of being one of the oldest Repertory companies in the country dated back to 1933. Since that time they have only had four artistic directors. I would like to thank Richard Rose for his progressive insights. Working as an actor generally means you will be performing and not directing. Having an artistic director have that faith in you is certainly welcoming. Rick Rose recently announced he will be stepping down as the artistic director and his successor will be Katy Brown a long time associate director at the Barter. I wish them both the best in their new endeavors. Below is a photo of Amanda Aldridge and Rick Rose and I New York 2017.
